Letters: Banks’ fees could have kept thousands of businesses afloat (4/24/20)
Banks’ fees could have kept thousands of businesses afloat
Shame! As reported by NPR, the largest banks in America are legally taking more than $10 billion dollars in processing fees, deducted from the $349 billion taxpayer funded loans to help desperate small business owners, even though there are no risks, nor are they lending their own money, because the loans are guaranteed by the Small Business Administration. Because of the urgent need, vetting of the loans was simplified. Also loans to large restaurant chains and other large enterprises may have been prioritized because the loan origination fees were larger.
Since I live in a small town, I’m aware how many business owners are barely holding on, often emptying their savings and retirement accounts, trying to keep afloat and continue employees’ jobs. How many businesses could that more than $10 billion, directed correctly to truly small businesses, save? Hundreds of thousands!
These politically connected, nationally influential banks, like Bank of America, JPMorgan-Chase, PNC, Wells Fargo, who were bailed out with taxpayer money in 2008, should be ashamed. So many Americans have helped others, followed the restrictions, often at great personal sacrifice, have believed “we’re all in this together”, and yet these incredibly wealthy banks acted in greedy self-interest. It’s contemptible.
Congress should investigate; the president should tweet his outrage, and the public should shame those banks as war profiteers, since we’re “fighting an invisible enemy.”
What hubris! For shame!
Barbara Keenan, Ft. Morgan
Let’s come together and be at our very best when things are worst
To be honest, I think everyone has made good points, and there have been mistakes made. Should we wear masks? When should we open and how fast should we open? Lots of questions, but if you think you have all the answers, well you are a smarter person than me.
One thing I know is that this affects everyone in many ways. Let the vulnerable stay at home and isolate them. Remove someone’s way of life and let them struggle to make ends meet. Let people die since they will anyway.
It is kind of like the “Sound of Silence:” people talking without speaking, people hearing without listening. A popular flag is Don’t Tread on Me but another revolutionary flag was the snake cut into 13 pieces with United We Stand Divided We Fall.
Ben Franklin said during the dark times of the revolutionary war that we must hang together or we will hang one by one. These are dark times and these times will try a person’s heart.
We can argue over who did what and when and blame everyone for the mistakes, but really a Pogo cartoon comes to mind — “We have found the enemy and he is us.”
Use some common sense — wear masks in public because it shows you care; be open to other ideas like maybe add more church services that promote social distancing; take out from restaurants.
Starman movie quote: “You are at your very best when things are worst.”
I pray he is right.
Ed Moore, Highlands Ranch
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